272 Beijing Opera Performers - Li Ke - Number 114

Li Ke

Beijing Opera - "The Trick of the Bees"

Li Ke with a black broken butterfly face in "The Trick of the Bees", adapted from an episode in New History of the Eastern Zhou, a long novel revised by Feng Menglong of the Ming dynasty and further revised and annotated by Cai Yuangfang of the Qing. The novel is based on the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, which together spanned more than five centuries. It begins in the last years of the Western Zhou and ends with the first Qin emperor's conquest of the six states in 221 BC. Li Ke was an official serving Duke Xian (r.676-651 BC) of the state of Jin.

Duke Xian had a pampered concubine called Li Ji, an ambitious woman who wanted her own son to inherit the dukedom. One day she spread honey on her hair so that a swarm of bees was attracted to it. She asked Shensheng, the duke's rightful heir, to drive away the bees, then accused the young man of taking liberties with her. Unable to extricate himself, Shensheng committed suicide. When Duke Xian died, Li Ke with help from the state of Qin killed Li Ji's sons Xiqi and Zhuozi and made Yiwu, brother of Shensheng, the Duke of Jin.